Goodbye Panama, South America awaits !

It's 1st March already, I've been away for 5 months !

So, it's my last day here in Panama, tomorrow I fly off to Quito, capital of Ecuador. Originally I thought I would be saying goodbye to Central America here but now I know I left Central America when I left Costa Rica. So I suppose I should be saying goodbye Central America and Panama ... and Belize. Confused ???

Anyway, on Thursday we took a partial transit on the Panama Canal. It's pretty impressive just from the sheer size of the tankers that go through, puts the locks in the UK to shame ! I'm glad we didn't do a full transit all the way to Colon though because it was pretty slow and the boat we were on was full of US pensioners wearing name tags showing which state they are from .... very Golden Girls.

That reminds me, my "awesome" tolerance level reached it's peak on the trip to David when we stopped for a toilet break and this guy from the states said to me, "do you speak English ?" and I replied "er, yes" and he said "Awesome !" .... I couldn't stop myself, I said "actually it's not awesome, I come from England and so it's fairly normal that I speak English" - he looked at me a bit strange after that.

So, I've been on the Panama Canal, it wasn't awesome but it's pretty cool that I've done it !

Tamara headed back to Costa Rica yesterday. Actually we've had a good laugh together. Considering we met for about 3 minutes on a beach in Manuel Antonio where she overheard me saying I was going to Panama, she said "oh, maybe we could travel together" and I said "er, yeah, ok" .... a slightly random way to meet someone that you're going to spend 2 weeks with ! Anyway, it worked out well.

So, the next stage of my adventure starts tomorrow, South America.

I loved Guatemala, I loved Belize, maybe I didn't give Honduras enough of a chance however I have yet to meet anyone who raved about mainland Honduras. I would like to publicly apologise to El Salvador for missing it out, I feel guilty. Nicaragua didn't disappoint and I would recommend it to anyone. Costa Rica is ok. Panama is the biggest surprise, don't particularly like the city but I have never liked cities however the country is stunning with the most welcoming people I have ever met.

To finish, a quick tip to anyone due to visit Panama City ... In Lonely Planet it says the traffic doesn't yield to pedestrians. They really don't, even on zebra crossings putting a foot on the stripes does not result in any deceleration. The only way to get across is to take your life in your hands on step into the path of the traffic - great fun on the 4 lane Via Espana !

Source : Traveljournals.net